A new Benicar lawsuit alleges that the blood pressure medication causes serious gastrointestinal injuries including chronic diarrhea.

Plaintiff Kevin G. of New Jersey filed this Benicar lawsuit against DaiichiSankyo, manufacturer of the medication.

Kevin claims that shortly after he was prescribed and began taking Benicar HCT to treat hypertension, he suffered from serious side effects and injuries including chronic diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain, and diverticulosis.

Kevin is filing his Benicar lawsuit within the larger multidistrict litigation in New Jersey federal court against Benicar manufacturers Daiichi Sankyo and Forest Laboratories.  He joins thousands of other plaintiffs who similarly allege that using Benicar lead to severe and debilitating gastrointestinal side effects.

What is Benicar?

Benicar is the brand name listed on the generic drug called olmesartan and is manufactured jointly by Daiichi Sankyo and Forest Laboratories. When used in the treatment of high blood pressure either alone or with other antihypertensive agents, it can reduce the symptoms of that condition.

Though used successfully by a large number of patients, there are reports from some who experienced significant side effects of Benicar.

Side Effects of Benicar

Patients taking Benicar under the recommended dosage have experienced major complications, including:

• Severe, chronic diarrhea with substantial weight loss
• Sprue-like enteropathy
• Villous atrophy
• Lymphocytic, collagenous and/or microscopic colitis

Sprue-like enteropathy and villous atrophy are both conditions involving destruction of the intestinal lining that are characterized by severe, chronic diarrhea, malabsorption, and substantial weight loss.

These conditions often result in repeat hospitalizations and in some cases cause secondary complications such as renal failure. Additionally, the disorders can develop months to years after starting Benicar use. Patients with Benicar-induced gastrointestinal problems are often misdiagnosed with celiac disease.

Other side effects of Benicar may include:

• Diverticulitis
• Crohn’s Disease
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome

FDA Warnings Lead to Benicar Label Updates

In 2013, the FDA asked for more warnings on the label for Benicar, describing the risk of chronic diarrhea, referred to as sprue-like entropathy.

Still, the FDA has stated that the benefits of this medication continue to outweigh its probable dangers when used to treat high blood pressure, but users are vulnerable to adverse side effects of Benicar.

Additionally, the FDA mentioned in its warning that none of the other medications prescribed for the treatment of high blood pressure have these severely adverse side effects.

FDA officials recommended that patients who develop symptoms of sprue-like enteropathy or other side effects of Benicar talk to their doctors about switching to alternative blood pressure treatments.

Benicar Lawsuit Information

As of October 2015, more than 1,000 Benicar lawsuits had been filed in U.S. courts on behalf of patients who had allegedly developed sprue-like enteropathy related to their use of the medication.

In April 2015, all federally-filed Benicar cases were centralized in a multidistrict litigation and transferred to the U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey. On the state level, dozens of additional lawsuits were consolidated in a multicounty litigation now underway in New Jersey’s Atlantic County Superior Court.

If you took Benicar and experienced GI symptoms requiring a doctor’s care or were diagnosed with sprue-like enteropathy or celiac disease, you may be entitled to compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

The Benicar Lawsuit is Case No. 1:15-cv-04442 and is part of the larger Benicar MDL is In Re:  Benicar (Olmesartan) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2606, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Camden Vicinage.